‘Disappointed’ Button admits he was surprised by Hamilton’s Mercedes switch

London: McLaren driver Jensen Button has admitted he was surprised when he came to know about teammate Lewis Hamilton’s decision to sign for Mercedes from next season.

Button was visiting the area in Japan, which was devastated by last year’s tsunami when he was told about Hamilton’s decision to join Mercedes by boss Martin Whitmarsh.

While Button said he never expected the 27-year-old to jump ship, he is confident his replacement, Sergio Perez, can be just as good as the 2008 world champ.

“When Martin told me Lewis was going, that was disappointing for the whole team. But when he said Perez was coming, it made me smile because I love margaritas and sombreros! Plus he seems fun,” the Sun quoted Button, as saying.

“There is a good picture of me somewhere wearing a sombrero and not much else!” I was very surprised when I heard Lewis was going because every season you race for this team, you win grands prix,” he added.

“Alright, we haven’t won the world championship while we have been team-mates, but we have been close and the opportunity could be around the corner. I’m surprised but we all have different challenges and things we want to achieve. He wants to try something new,” he said.

Button added: “As for me, I love surrounding myself with good people and I hope I will be spending years with this team.”